The Mobster in the Vault
by nikstarr
Summary: Booth and Brennan investigate the murder of a mobster from the late 20's. Also Brennan discovers Booth's secret and things get a little hairy during their cold case investigation
1. Chapter 1

**"The Mobster in the Vault"**

**chapter one**

**a/n: I mostly wanted to do this fic cause' I'm in love with the 20's and 30's. So I hope everyone enjoys!!! And Big kudos to my sister Natalie who is my co-conspirator...I couldn't have figured everything out without her.**

**I don't own BONES. Hart Hanson does, and he is AWESOME**

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"You cheated!" Her voice rang out accusingly , fighting back a smile because the look on his face was distracting her from the reality of the situation. "Stop it Booth!"

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood, and I did not cheat." He stated matter-of-factly. His smug smile made her want to burst into laughter but she held it in. What a ham...She didn't even know what a ham was until Booth had told her, and she was sure he was acting like one. At first she didn't understand how someone could be cooked pig...but Booth explained that it means the person is always demanding attention. It made no clinical sense but eventually she let it go.

"Yes you did Booth, you moved one of your pieces when you thought I wasn't looking. But I saw you." She accused, holding back any sign of being amused. She was serious but his reactions were hilarious.

Booth shook his head, "You must be seeing things Bones. I don't cheat, I'm FBI...the good guy alright?" He held his hands up as if he were surrendering...which would have been a victory for Brennan if he was. But in this case it was more of a 'don't look at me' gesture. "How about we play another game?" He suggested, a wry smile appearing across his face.

Brennan scowled, "You're just gonna cheat again."

"I didn't cheat Bones, I swear. Just come on...one more game? Please?" His pathetic puppy dog eyes bore into hers. She was surprised at how much his groveling affected her. Now she was wanting more than anything to play another game with him, but if he cheated again that would be the last straw.

She sighed begrudgingly, "Fine...But I want to be white this time."

Enthusiastic over his victory he beamed, "Alright Bones! Let's get this party Sta-" he was interrupted by the shrilling chirp inside his pocket. "Hold on Bones, I gotta take this." He reached inside his pocket and flipped open his phone and asked who it was. It was silent for a few seconds before Booth answered, "Are you sure? Well okay then we'll be right there." He flipped the phone closed and eyed Brennan "We've got a case!"

"Really?"

He nodded, "Yep, come on Bones. Let's go catch a murderer."

They both shared a look of excitement before Brennan and Booth got their things together and headed out the door.

* * *

"I was a little shocked myself, this vault hasn't been opened in at least a month. We didn't think anything was in there before...but I came in early to deposit some cash and I opened up this secret compartment and found this..." He motioned towards the body...both revolted and fearful at the same time. The guy looked very short in stature and to Brennan he seemed like he had never seen a body like this before.

The remains were very old and obviously had already gone through the huge stages of decomp. But she could tell this was a murder, there was no way the victim would have sealed himself in a compartment that tiny without being forced. "Well he's a male...Mid to late thirties. By his facial structure I can tell he was definitely Caucasian. The bones are very old, I think maybe from the 20's or 30's."

"Ha that's new." Booth stated sarcastically, "so murder vic?"

Brennan nodded, "I would think so. There's no way this guy could have made it into here on his own unless he was an extremely good contortionist. Plus there's major bruising on the femurs, scapula, and most of the ribs." She concluded.

Booth gave a nod before consulting with the manager. Brennan turned her head back to examine the body and her eyes focused on something dangling around the victim's neck. She traced her fingers over the letters "BD" trying to figure out what it meant. "Uh, Booth?" She called over her partner who walked to her side immediately, "Do you have any idea what BD stands for?"

She looked up to see booth's face scrunched up in thought, "Huh, not at all. Maybe Angela can figure it out. She's usually the expert on jewelry stuff right?" Brennan nodded in agreement. It looked very old to her, the way it was weathered and the way the bones were...this was definitely a cold case. It would be very hard for Booth to find any living suspects.

Brennan turned her attention to the manager, "How long has it been since this compartment was last used."

The manager threw up his shoulders, "I don't really know it's a family vault. The Montgomery's have been using it since the late 1800's I believe...when their bank first opened up. I was just taking out the deposit box for one of our more wealthy customers...and...excuse me..." He turned his face away as to disguise his disatisfication.

"So this is a family owned bank?" Booth asked inquisitively.

The manager nodded, "Yes. It's mostly known for surviving the depression. Some people in the community have suspected it was due to money laundering, but nothing had ever been proven." The man didn't seem to know much but the basics, which was kind of frustrating to Booth. He needed to know more about the family than that they were Bank owners.

"What's the current owner's name?"

"Uh, Ronald Montgomery. He's a very famous politician. I believe his family also owns the chain of Gelato shops called 'Venice Delights.'" The thought of sweet treats immediately perked up the poor guy's attitude. "I personally eat there whenever I have the money. They're pretty hard to get...they cost a fortune."

Booth tried to remember hearing anything about a shop called Venice Delights but he didn't remember ever going there or hearing talk about it..."And where could we find this Gelato shop?"

The manager chuckled, "There's one like three miles from here right by the park...you've seriously never been there? I know they charge a lot of money, but you should really try their gelatos they are so good..." The man trailed off, closing his eyes and letting his lips curl up with delight. A sight that made Brennan roll her eyes.

Booth cleared his throat, taking the man away from his daydream "Um, as good as that sounds...we're trying to solve a murder here okay? So if you could please give me the adress of the shop...that'd be great" He stated sarcastically, a very common tone that Brennan always noticed he used when he was very annoyed.

"Oh, yeah uh sure. I'll write it down." The man took a piece of paper and pen out of his coat pocket and started scribbling. Booth and Brennan shared glances of mutual annoyance, obviously both not pleased with the attitude of the manager. "You know," He said happily as he ripped the piece of paper off his pad and handed it to Booth, "A Gelato shop is the perfect place to take your girlfriend here on a date. I'm sure she would enjoy it very much. Especially if she's having to deal with dead people all day, if that was me...I'd be dying for a break."

Booth laughed nervously, "That's nice...that's very nice sir and that's exactly why you're a bank manager and not a professional." Booth shot an intense look of annoyance at the small looking man, who cowered back in response. Brennan chuckled a little at Booth's insult, it's what she would have said if Booth hadn't...he was definitely learning a lot from her. She smiled at the thought.

Brennan added in matter-of-factly, "And next time Mr. Seager...you should think about what you're saying before you announce it to the public. You're obviously ignorant in many ways." Booth whipped his head over to his partner to give her the 'That was a little too far' look and she automatically wished she hadn't said that out loud. Still, however cruel the statement was the guy was too cowardly to fight back. He just nodded, said a quick goodbye and got out of the conversation as fast as he could.

Booth rolled his eyes, "I hate people who get into other people's business...it's like they never heard of privacy. I mean as for FBI...we have an excuse...we're trying to solve a mystery but Bank managers like him should keep their questions to themselves."

Brennan chuckled, "Yeah to think he thought I was your girlfriend. Like that would ever happen." She turned to look at Booth to share a humorous glance but was surprised when his face actually showed a hint of sadness that made her feel like someone was pushing down really hard on her chest. She didn't understand why he would act that way by her saying something like that, but it hurt her to see him so miserable. "W-what did I say?" She didn't want him to be upset.

"Nothing Bones." He said, trying to shake it off. "It's nothing. Let's just hurry up here so we can get back to where there aren't any damn mosquitoes poking the hell out of us." He said, referencing the awkward conversation with the manager a few seconds earlier. Brennan didn't understand so she started to question him but he pointed towards the direction of the manager who had maneuvered his way out of the crime scene. Brennan followed his finger and understood as soon as she saw Mr. Seager. Of course, Booth was calling the guy a mosquito...which made sense, he was very annoying.

Brennan nodded, "Okay. Let's bag it up." She said loudly as she stood up, allowing the other professionals to swarm in and do their job. She turned to Booth who was a little bit closer than she had predicted and ended up ramming her head into his. Both yelped in a painful shock, "Oh, ouch....I'm sorry Booth...I didn't see you were so close behind me."

Booth held onto his forehead as if it was going to fall off if he let go, "Yeah...I was just trying to see if you needed help bagging anything. Sorry, I should have known I was getting too close." Brennan concentrated on his forehead, studying it intensely as she moved her hands up to run her hands gently over the spot that had collided with hers. It was red and seemed to be sticking out slightly. Booth hissed at the contact. "Ow ow ow ow."

"I'm sorry I'm sorry...you might want to put some ice on this Booth. It's a big bump." Brennan said in a professional tone, with a hint of sympathy. Brennan bit her lip nervously, "Is mine okay? Does it look red?"

Booth looked up at her forehead, seeing the slightly red mark on his partner's forehead but his eyes shifted down to hers and remained there...looking into her pale blue eyes that seemed to twinkle whenever she was the most vulnerable. "I-uh....." He tried to answer but her eyes kept twinkling...and he felt his heart do the usual roll around in his chest...ever since the dream. Ever since he knew he was in love with her. He took a breath before answering her, "It's a little red...but you seem fine."

Brennan breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh good," a smile escaping her lips. "We need to get you some ice..." Cupping her hands over her mouth she yelled out, "CAN WE GET A BAG OF ICE OVER HERE?" Booth cringed at the thought of someone else getting the ice but he kept his mouth shut. She turned her attention back to his bump, allowing her fingers to graze over it once again....causing the hissing reaction from Booth like before, "Oh sorry, I guess I shouldn't do that. I was just checking it." Her cheeks flushed lightly, which she tried to hide by concentrating her eyes on the bump. Somehow though her eyes started traveling to other places and before she knew it she was looking into Booth's eyes, taken aback that he was looking at her as well. She looked away quickly, turning her attention on the manager who had a bag of ice in his hands. "Thank you." She said as she took it away from him quickly, trying to not pay attention to his nervous glances. As soon as she could sense that he had left she took the bag of ice and gently placed it onto Booth's head. Booth's face contorted into a grimace, his hand coming up to grab the bag...instead his hand gently formed around Brennan's, both aware of the warmth radiating off each others palms.

Brennan let go quickly, breaking away from the uncomfortable silence. "Uh...you're welcome." Booth watched her scurry off to help with the evidence...his heart feeling like it was going to beat out of his chest. He wanted to tell her he loved her, but he was afraid of ruining everything. He had been afraid of her not feeling the same way...but that moment...the way she had looked at him, made him believe that she did in fact feel something after all.

Maybe there was hope....

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**a/n : sorry the chap was so short but I just wanted to introduce everything first before I post the LONNNNNG chapters. Reviews would be welcomed. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

**a/n: I'm so sorry that the dialogue with the Montgomery's is so short...but I am no good with the case stuff. As you see I pay more attention to BB than the cases themselves. lmfao. On that note, here is chapter two. I DO NOT OWN BONES. and HART IS THE MESSIAH OF AWESOMENESS!!!**

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"So you're saying that this guy has been in my family's special vault for seventy years?" The man so famously known as Ronald Montgomery asked, taken aback by the whole situation. Booth and Brennan had pulled up at the Montgomery's gelato shop a few hours before asking for him but instead got an address of his mansion. As soon as they had entered the mansion Brennan had realized that this politician was probably richer than Hodgins. And he sure wasn't modest about it. The place seemed to be bigger than D.C. itself. And his apparel suggested that he shopped at stores that even she would have a hard time getting into. Money aside, he seemed to be a fairly sturdy gentleman with a prominent jaw and a very appealing torso. He had very dark hair that was slicked back and his eyes were a sparkling green. "How did he get there?"

"We're still trying to figure that out, you don't happen to know who this fellow might be do you?" Booth asked in a suave, rather persuasive tone.

Ronald shook his head, "No..no idea. I mean I obviously wasn't around seventy years ago. My grandmother might be able to help though...she's pretty senile but I'm sure she could provide a name if you give her a face." He offered then gave us a signal to wait as he ran off into a nearby room. He returned pushing a wheelchair with a very old-looking woman who appeared to be old enough to be in the Guinness World Records. Despite her age though, her eyes still twinkled with youth. She smiled at Booth and Brennan, a very wrinkly smile but it was still genuine.

As soon as she had approached a close distance, Ronald stopped the wheelchair, "May I help you?"

Booth nodded, suddenly becoming a gentlemen of respect "Yes, ma'am we were wondering, we found a skeleton in your family vault, we're trying to figure out who it is. Do you have any clue as to who it might be?"

The old lady's smile turned into a frown..."Well I don't know...how old was this skeleton?" Her eyes filled with worry

"The victim appears to have died in the late twenties. It already went through the huge stages of decomp." Brennan explained

The old lady brushed away a tear that suddenly slipped off her cheek. "I-I don't know how it happened but I believe I know who it was. Victor Bucelli. He was a fellow coworker of my brother. He disappeared around that time. It's been so long..." the woman trailed off in thought obviously reliving the past in her mind. Booth and Brennan remained silent, waiting for Ronald's Grandmother to continue. "I-I just assumed he'd left the country...went back home to Cicily. I didn't want to think..." She stopped herself from continuing, putting her hand over her face as if she was trying to hide the wrinkles all over her.

Brennan wondered if she might know what the necklace was all about so she broke the silence, "We found a necklace on the body that had the initials 'BD' inscribed in them. Would you possibly know what they mean?" The woman removed her hand and Brennan could see the tears that were gleaming all over her cheeks. With the mention of the necklace, her eyes lit up with recognition. She nodded holding out her hand, hoping for a chance to look at it. Brennan shook her head, "I'm sorry ma'am but it's evidence right now...we can't exactly show it to you...but if you could help in any way..." she didn't know how to phrase it so that the old lady would understand.

The woman nodded and put her hands back in her lap. "It was a present...from his father. H-he gave it to him as soon as he had turned eighteen...when he..." She cut herself off immediately which gave Booth the suspicion that she was hiding something very important, "When he became an adult. In his family they have the tradition of passing on the necklace to the next of kin...but only when they come of age. It's taken very seriously in his family. That's why it was impossible for us to think that...he would just..." She put her hand up again to cover her face and this time did not remove it.

Ronald took a hold of the wheelchair, "I'm sorry, she's tired...you know. It's about time for her nap anyway."

He started to wheel her away but Booth spoke up, "Wait!" Ronald turned around to look at him "What does BD stand for?"

Ronald's grandmother looked up, a slight grin appearing on her face, one that seemed to make all the sadness she was feeling a second earlier disappear, "Bucelli-Demonté." She gave a signal to Ronald who continued to wheel her away. Booth and Brennan exchanged puzzled glances but questioned no further and turned around to return to the car. Booth opened Brennan's door and shut it as soon as she was sitting inside then did the same for himself on his side.

He turned to Brennan, noticing a tear slipping on the side of her cheek. Seeing it made his heart ache. He suddenly felt the need to console her, "Hey...Bones. What's wrong?" Brennan brushed the tear away and shook her head, continuing to look out in front of her as if Booth had never asked her anything at all. "Bones...come on. It's me, Booth. Your partner? The guy you usually share all your thoughts with...most of them anyway." He figured she was holding out on him when it came to their own relationship.

Brennan shook her head again but this time replied, "It's just that poor woman went for so long thinking her friend had just left the country...when really he was wasting away in her family vault...it's h-heart crushing." She was about to say heart breaking but she had remembered her conversation with Booth and how they had basically developed the word heart crushing instead. So she decided to go with that. "It's not really rational for me to be so emotional I guess, I'm just...I can relate."

Booth understood completely...because even his own eyes threatened to tear up at the poor old woman's story. He let his hand rest gently on her shoulder and her head lifted up in his direction. He let himself stare at her for a few seconds so he knew she had his attention, "I know..." He started, trying to figure out how to word everything without sounding too pushy. "I know you have a hard time...dealing with what you think of as 'irrational' but Bones, there are some things that defy rationality simply by being extraordinary. Things like Love, God, faith...they may seem irrational to the pure scientist, to someone who has dedicated their life to structure and reasoning, but it's what keeps the rest of us going. I'm not saying that you're different in a bad way Bones, you are in every way good...I'm just saying that you shouldn't feel horrible for feeling empathetic about someone Else's heart crushing story." He finished the last word sweetly, his eyes focusing mostly on hers...as if he was trying to hypnotize her into believing him.

Brennan felt another tear slip past her cheek and a hand coming up to wipe it away. It felt weird because Booth had never taken it upon himself to wipe her tears away from the whole time she knew him. Sure he'd let her cry on his chest, rest her head on his shoulder, lend a hug whenever needed...but never had he wiped away a tear. Although she was still feeling horrible about the lady's story she couldn't help but smile at Booth's gentlemanly ways. "I'm Good?"

Booth smiled, "The best." There was no denying it, even if he wasn't in love with her...he still would've said it. It was a simple fact. Usually she wasn't as humble in her reaction to being called the best because she had been told that many times and in all reasoning she was the best in her field but Booth meant it in another way, and by Brennan's reaction that's exactly what she thought too. Her smile brightened as she heard him say the words that she heard often but hearing Booth say it was much more uplifting. She didn't care about crazy fans or annoying grad students complimenting her work constantly when she already knew it was good. She didn't need any of that. All she needed was someone telling her she wasn't just a Doctor, but also a human being with emotions...and understanding. She knew she could feel...but with all the mishaps of normal communication she sometimes worried if everyone thought she was heartless.

But obviously Booth could see it, which gave her a huge confidence boost. "Thanks, Booth." She said, giving him a very appreciative glance before shifting her body back to face the dashboard. "We should probably get back to the lab. I've been getting lots of texts from Daisy and if I don't get back soon, she might get herself into trouble." Daisy wicke wasn't Brennan's favorite intern that was for sure, always invading personal space and somehow making a mess of everything in the lab. But she had gotten a little better lately, apparently her boyfriend and their psychiatrist Dr. Lance Sweets had taught her to be more calm and personable. Still, Brennan felt like it was best to have her supervised at all times. She didn't want any more skulls breaking into fragments making it that much harder to finish the case.

Booth nodded and started the car, "Yeah, sure." He was a little upset that she had once again, avoided anything that could have happened between them by talking about work. He had done it before too...but that was before he had really let his feelings about his partner sink in. He imagined Brennan was still in the process of figuring everything out. Although it was frustrating, he was waiting until she felt comfortable enough to make the first move. He was trying to be a gentleman.

On the drive to the Jeffersonian, Booth realized Brennan still smiling, wiping away small tears that he could tell looked like they were falling from a better attitude then they were a few minutes ago. He couldn't help but keep glancing over at her, she looked so euphoric that he didn't dare interrupt the silence by talking. He tried his best to keep his eyes on the road though, because they didn't need to risk getting in an accident over his adoration. When they finally pulled up to the parking lot, Booth realized that Brennan was now looking at him....with a fire in her eyes. One that made him feel tingly in all the right places. "Booth I figured it out."

That confused him, figured out what? The case had only begun and she hadn't really started to look at the possible causes of death yet. "Um I'm confused." He sated truthfully, at a loss of anything better to say.

Brennan's smile widened, "Mrs. Pearl Montgomery, her speech. She was so heartbroken the entire time about his death, she looked extremely guilty....I think she was in love with him." How had she caught that information and not him? He figured since she was a friend that she would have reacted the same way...but he realized as he let himself remember the poor old lady mourning over the loss of Victor Bucelli that she did show signs of being in a relationship with him. He tried to figure out how Brennan would've figured that out before him but then he was reminded of the moment he had shared with her in the car telling her that the concept of love is extraordinary but it's a part of life. She was thinking about him when coming to the realization. The way she was looking at him now, and how she was smiling on the ride over...it wouldn't seem much to the casual observer but to Booth it meant everything.

Booth struggled to speak because he didn't want to give away anything that was going on in his head but he wanted to congratulate her for figuring out something that he had missed so he came up with the best praise he could come up with at the moment, "You're becoming more like me every day Bones. I mean, that was good." He had been saying that word a lot, he noticed...but really he couldn't think of anything better. It seemed simple and self-explanatory. The best word to come up with when one finds themselves speechless.

Brennan grinned wider at the compliment, her self-esteem reaching an ultimate high. It wasn't normal for her to notice things like that, usually it was Booth who was the brains in that department. But she'd done it. She'd actually figured something out about someone just by their personality and emotions...not by their skeletal structure. It felt really nice to succeed in something that was not her area of expertise. She didn't know what else to say because everything she wanted to say like, how she came to that realization...how she felt for her partner...was still so foreign to her. She felt for him, she knew that much but she had never felt love before and she didn't know what it would be like...so she didn't jump to that conclusion. Considering it in her best interest, Brennan kept those thoughts to herself. She finally fished out a reply that was case related, "Maybe the chain of Montgomery's have Buccelli DNA. Maybe there was a reason for her guilt...she could have been keeping her child a secret..."

Booth couldn't help but chuckle at his partner. He ignored her offended look, explaining truthfully, "You do realize you are doing the very thing you usually spend most of your time cutting down...you're making a conjecture." He smiled proudly as if he was the reason for her change in lifestyle....which he most probably was. Brennan started chuckling too and soon the car was filled with a carefree echo of laughter. It took awhile for them to get back into sorts....slowly fighting the urge to breathe as they started to come back to reality. Brennan let herself stare at Booth, just admiring the way his eyes were lit up with carefree amusement. Booth let out a relaxed sigh, "You know I wouldn't be surprised if I end up picking up Squint talk with the way these ironic situations keep popping out of nowhere."

Brennan couldn't help but laugh at that as well because it was true. She was really catching on to Booth's personal habits...it wouldn't be long before he caught on to hers as well. They were a team, they spent so much time together that they pretty much knew each other from cover to cover. "Well hearing you speak my language would be even more amusing than me speaking yours believe me."

"How do you figure" Booth shot her a challenging look that seemed to say, 'Prove it'

Brennan smiled and rolled her eyes...was he really challenging her? "Well anthropologically speaking we grew up in different cultures and..."

Before she could finish Booth cut her off, "And we based our primary goals at different levels, although both of them were set very high, when compared to each other yours is much higher than mine." He said with a huge grin on his face. Brenna was caught completely off guard. He had learned a lot from her too...obviously he didn't say it as well as she usually did but still...he understood most of what she was 'rambling on about' as he usually explained. "See Bones, I can assimilate." He said proudly giving her his usual cocky grin.

She shook her head, chuckling with disbelief at Booth's outburst of elementary anthropology. "You really have been spending too much time with me." She chuckled some more as she let herself gaze at Booth, who was still grinning from ear to ear. His smile was too hard to resist and soon her smile was even wider than his as they shared a moment of euphoric glances. The vibration of Brennan's cell phone interrupted their crazy high and brought them back to the realization that they should get inside to work on the case. "It's Daisy again."

"Case related?"

Brennan rolled her eyes, "Well it's not anything different then the last ten texts she's sent me." She stated, very much annoyed with her intern's badgering. "I'm not texting back since we're so close. She's just gonna have to wait like a normal person." She said matter-of-factly as she put her phone back in her coat pocket. "I mean it's not bad enough I have to deal with her constant enthusiasm for every single thing...now I have to deal with my phone going off every ten seconds too!"

Booth chuckled a little at Brennan's rant. He loved it when she got so frustrated because her cheeks would always turn the perfect shade of pink that always seemed to make her look adorable. "Well, you know she'll learn. As much as I hate to admit it, you should give her some time...she's already getting better. I'm sure she'll get herself under complete control one of these days." He doubted it but he was hoping to calm her down before she punched a hole in his car door.

"Yeah after I've already gone insane from having to open all these texts." She said angrily as she opened her door and got out quickly. Booth watched her with amusement as he got out himself, locking the door with his remote.

* * *

"What do you have for us?" Brennan asked, her face still painted with extreme annoyance. Daisy wicke didn't even seem deterred by Brennan's anger. Brushing it off she went on to explain her findings. Spouting off things that seemed foreign to Booth but Brennan understood every word...occasionally asking more questions that triggered more foreign explanations that made Booth's head want to explode. He tried to follow it all but he was way too confused to figure anything out.

They stopped talking for a brief second, giving Booth the perfect opportunity to interrupt, "Uh, squint speak is great and all but could you please start speaking my language so I can understand?" He felt horrible for saying it because he should have caught on to Brennan's intelligence by now but he found it impossible to understand when the majority of what Daisy and Brennan were talking about were all things that simply didn't add up in his brain.

Brennan nodded, "The victim was shot in the abdomen. The bullet most likely punctured his liver, causing instant death. The bruising on the bones are what I predicted, the victim had been stuffed into that vault with a lot of pressure. Whoever killed him had to have been in shape."

"And very good at puzzles." Daisy added enthusiastically.

Booth shot her an annoyed glance before shifting his attention back to Brennan. "Okay so the murder was old fashioned....except for the whole 'stuffing the dead guy in a tight vault' thing." He said with a grimace. If that man had been alive for that, he would've been even more disgusted. The thought of being stuffed like a contortionist into a vault that small really made him appreciate the space he had around him at that moment in time.

The sound of a card swiping the clearance deck from behind them caused their attention to shift onto the fourth party. Angela was carrying a sketch pad in hand and her pencil was placed very gently in between her ear and skull. She looked very studious, in Booth's opinion. "I have a face." She said proudly, holding out the picture for Brennan to examine. "You know it's too bad he was from a different time...if I had gotten to meet him...I would have totally gotten his digits." She stated lustfully.

"Ange, I didn't really need a reconstruction...we already know his name." She stated.

Angela's smile turned to a frown, realizing she had been beaten to the punch. "Aww bummer. Well..." she started to smile once again, "At least I got a good couple of hours out of it." Angela made a whistle sound that Brennan didn't understand, she turned to Booth looking for an explanation giving him a silent, 'I don't know what that means' stare.

Booth chuckled to himself as he translated, "She thought he was hot." He said, plain and simple. Brennan nodded in understanding and turned back to Daisy and went on with her confusing conversation she was having before. Again, Booth found himself confused and a little bit left out...luckily Angela was feeling the same so he wasn't alone. They both shared glances of 'Why even bother to figure it out' looks before the squint squad finally stopped their conversation. "Finally, Listen Bones....if we're done here we should head out...maybe grab a quick bite to eat before heading over to my office."

Brennan nodded in reply, saying quick goodbyes to Daisy and Angela before heading out of the lab with Booth and into the parking lot once again. To her it felt like they never had left. It had really only been a few minutes ago since their arrival. But then again this was a cold case. It was going to be a lot harder getting the murder solved than usual. Luckily, she had Booth to keep her busy. Unlike any other agent, she actually enjoyed having him around. She couldn't have asked for a better partner...even if she was upset about it at first. They'd come along way in only four and a half years. She found that it was easier to deal with his special nicknames for her, his concept of love and belief of a God that doesn't exist, and his lower IQ than she did when they first started working together. She also realized how much she was beginning to feel an attraction to him. She had to admit that every time they were stuck in awkward situations, she always felt her body tingle and her heart thump wildly in her chest. She had no idea if it was love...but she knew it was a big deal. She mostly left all of those things left unsaid however, because if it wasn't love...she didn't want Booth to think she was stupid for saying it. He probably wouldn't though, she realized. He was quite the gentleman and would never say anything to hurt her feelings.

As soon as they had buckled their seat belts, Booth started the car and headed towards the Diner. He stole a glance in her direction and was surprised to notice that she was looking at him with the same fire in her eyes that she had earlier. Again the tingles decided to rise up. To cover up his pining, he let a meek smile escape his lips which triggered Brennan to smile even bigger. Booth struggled to tear himself away from her face that to him looked as if she was actually lovestruck so that he could pay attention to the road. Sooner or later she was gonna end up making him crash. He just knew it. "You have a nice smile." He decided to tell her. It wasn't too much of a confession considering it was a fact that she would consider reasonable.

Brennan seemed quite satisfied with the compliment, "Thank you." Her mind shifted to possible reasons he would say that to her. He never usually said anything about her smile. Only her beauty in general. "You do too." She added simply, it was the truth. His smile blew her away. It was the one thing that could make her feel nice on a bad day.

They sat in silence for awhile as Booth tried to concentrate on getting to the diner in one piece. He wasn't looking but he could feel Brennan's eyes on him the entire time, like there was a magnetic pull focused on him alone. He tried to ignore that and pay attention but it was getting difficult with each second that passed by. Seeing that he was on a side street, he pulled over suddenly...Causing Brennan to worry that something was wrong. He put the car in park and looked over at Brennan, his emotions swirling around like a closed in ball that needed to be let out. It was really safer for him to park for awhile than drive so distracted. "I'm sorry I just..." He chuckled a little under his breath, "you're gonna think this is stupid...I just couldn't drive with you looking at me like that."

Brennan felt her stomach twist around in circles, "I'm sorry...I'll try and keep my eyes to myself." She joked, letting out a carefree giggle.

Booth laughed at the joke, "Please, I don't want to accidentally run into a pole or anything." They both smiled again, the feeling of electricity and euphoria growing with each centimeter that their smiles decided to widen. It felt almost like a dream to Booth...she was acting so happy and peaceful...just like she had been in his dream. He wanted to have that life...and now he was getting little pieces of it here and there that just fueled his desire to plant a kiss on Brennan's soft, sweet lips that he remembered so well 2 years ago under the mistletoe. Although it was awkward at the time, he was sure it would be much better now that he knew his feelings. Before thinking about anything he took his hand and brushed it across her lips, remembering the soft sweetness that he had remembered. He released his hand as soon as he had realized what he was doing, but not without feeling the tingles coursing throughout his whole body. He looked at her expectantly...hoping she hadn't jumped to conclusions already. But from her expression...she had already been on that train of thought because her eyes burned brighter than they'd been a few minutes ago. She wanted him to kiss her...he could tell just by the look in her eyes but the gentleman in him decided to hold back. He kept telling himself that she needed to make the first move...there was no way he was going to screw this up if he could help it.

It took all his self control to tear his eyes away from her and start the car back up. Still he didn't put on the gas just yet, his thoughts were still on Brennan and therefore he was still unfocused. He struggled to pull himself together just long enough to reach the diner. That's all he needed to do. Everything else could wait until he was safe in a parking lot with the car in park. That was his goal. He smirked a little at how crazy he was acting over Brennan simply staring at him. It was just a look. It's not like she had planted one on him or anything. Even though, she wouldn't deny him the chance to. Still, this wasn't the time or place to be showing his affection. It had to be at the right moment. And he was sure that moment was not parked on a side road on their way to the diner.

Brennan knew Booth had wanted her to tear her eyes away so they could reach the Diner in one piece but she couldn't help it. And after his hand had touched her lips, she felt the desire for much more than just staring from a distance. She felt like she was going against all that she believed, but she was starting to understand love...if that's what she was feeling. She hoped it was because she didn't want it to go away. The crazy tumbling in the pit of her stomach and the tingly sensations coursing through her body was enough to satisfy her for a lifetime.

Temperance Brennan, the rational Forensic Anthropologist was falling in love with Seeley Booth.

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**a/n: Yes lots of BB. I actually started this story because I was inspired by the twenties...but now it's formed into BB. lolz. REVIEWS ARE WELCOMED**


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